KIVU Global Gap Year Program: Destinations Across the Globe

The Kivu Gap Year was by far one of the best experiences of my entire life. My internship in Denver taught me a lot about the struggles of people in first world countries that i wasn't really aware of, and I am happy still work with my organization I interned with even though it's been three years. Traveling abroad was incredible. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, but in a good way. I was able to learn things about myself that i know i would have never learned without this program. Gap Year has helped me become more driven in school, and the experiences I had during Gap Year have benefited me a lot during college. This program is amazing!

Well folks, you've heard it all from some pretty awesome alumni. The Kivu Gap Year program is specifically tailored to young adults that are in the process of finding out where they belong in a global community through exploring the inner-workings of themselves. And they truly do incredible job at it.

But underneath it at all, what really makes this program so wonderful is the leadership. Hands down. Luke Parrott is one of the most insightful men I've ever known and he is in a constant process of putting this program under the lens of his own criticism so that he can sharpen it to be the most comprehensive year any kid at this age can experience. Moreover, Luke, Andy and Jamie Jo Braner (the founders and directors of Kivu), along with the field staff in Denver, Rwanda, and the Philippines do an amazing job at offering their unwavering support to the students in whatever personal or community related issues that may arise.

In High School I wanted to go live in the mountains, travel around, grow the biggest beard any man could imagine, and climb rocks for the rest of my life. I was a terrible student because I thought I wasn't capable of doing anything else. The staff of Kivu Gap Year staff helped me sort through some of the deeper issues inside my own life that were producing this lie, and the experience I was getting both at my internship in Denver, and abroad put these issues in a vocational and global context in a way that allowed me to experience what I am truly capable of and what I'm deeply passionate about. The result was ambition, along with the right questions to ask to sharpen this ambition.

I graduated from the Kivu Gap Year over a year ago and it is still something that I think about and learn from every day. It completely changed the way I look at the world and my life, from the way I interact with people to the way I view my education. I learned more about myself than I would have ever known, just by living in cultures that seemed so completely opposite from what I was comfortable with. I became okay with being uncomfortable, which I now realize is one of the best places to be. This program truly is a life-changing experience.

This program gives you the space to allow yourself to be transformed. It challenges you and makes you examine yourself (your values, beliefs, ideas etc) The Kivu Gap Year takes you out of your comfort zone. It's in that uncomfortable place that the most growth happens. I went from my comfortable suburban bubble, to the inner-city of Denver, and lastly to third world countries. I was stripped of everything I once knew, and in that I found that God transformed me. I got to live life with people in a small village in Rwanda, the slums of the Philippines and everywhere in between. It was through these people that I began to see the world differently. A lot of growth happened in just one year, but the Gap Year is simply a stepping stone. It is an important part of my story and something I am continually learning from. My college experience is radically different because I see everything through a more grounded, global lens. All in all, you're gaining life experience through the various internships around the world. The Kivu Gap Year will wreck you in a beautiful way.

For me, the Gap year was an incredible eye opening experience. I learned alot about myself, why I work the way I do, and How to better myself. I learned to live with total strangers that soon became family! Although the Gap year did not actually provide an experience for me to do what my passion is (work with animals) I am so thankful for it because it helped me focus on my life, and in a way, it led me to my ultimate conclusion that my passion is Animals, by letting me try so many other options! It is a great program with great people and I would highly encourage you to try it!

As a student on the 1st ever Kivu Gap Year, I am to-this-day amazed with our adventure. When I started traveling in September of 2010, I thought my purpose was to go out and “change the world”, to make a difference in someone’s life, but what I came to find after 8 months of traveling was that my purpose was to let my experience change me from the inside out. The Kivu Gap Year was a exploration of the self through integration into unknown communities in our global society. Throughout my journey, I learned things about myself that I never knew existed and I feel are completely applicable in my everyday life. I uknowingly prepared myself, though this program, for the life that was ahead of me.

This program is unlike any other, and will completely flip your perspectives upside down. The exposure to the different situations in this world is incredible, but they don't stop there. They provide you with further knowledge, opportunities, guidance, and passion so that you know how to approach the many heart-breaking sites around the world. Even if you do not want to work in Non-Profit for the rest of your life, this program is still beneficial. You gain extremely new knowledge about yourself and the world, and the experiences can help guide you towards a particular field of study for college or work. Other than being super beneficial, it is both hard and fun! The challenges force you to step outside your comfort zone, and the fun you experience with your "soon to be family" always helps alleviate the stress from the challenges.

On the Kivu Gap Year, our day to day activities varied depending on our location. We spent the first semester living in inner city Denver, where each student had individual internships. I worked with an organization that provides job opportunities and counseling for women coming out of prostitution, homelessness, abuse, and incarceration. We traveled to Rwanda where we lived individually with Rwandese host families while working at individual internships. My internship was at a primary slum school where I taught English to third and fourth graders. We then climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. After Kilimanjaro, we ventured to places throughout all of India, saw the Taj Mahal, and served at an orphanage for children with special needs. Our journey was concluded in the Philippines, where we worked in the slums daily, serving malnourished children whose families live on less than fifty cents per day. Gap year was the most difficult, humbling, maturing, and best year of my life. The difficulties we encountered through cultural differences and homesickness brought extensive growth beyond measure. I think about gap year every day in who I am in my relationships with others, in the classroom, and spiritually. My gap year shaped me into the person I am today, and I would recommend the program to any high school graduate. I truly believe the lessons I learned on gap year will continue to impact and challenge me for the rest of my life. Although I live in a society that is sucked into a certain way of living, I am now challenged to live life outside of mediocrity and comfort, and fear living any other way.